Camden McClain
Camden McClain is the protagonist of crown on the ground and a student attending Waterford Academy. He became the captain of the school's swim team, the White Sharks, and quit midseason. He is one of the top U18 swimmers in the nation, specializing in the breast-stroke and the butterfly. He swims for Team USA in international swimming competitions such as the FINA Swimming World Cup and Pan Pacific. Appearance Camden is a tall young man with short blond hair and green eyes. He's often seen in a customized TEAM USA swimming jacket over his school uniform because it's so central to his identity as a patriotic swimmer, but the students of Waterford Academy think it's because he's narcissistic and the jacket is his way of bragging about how special he is. And it is, a little bit. It is against the dress code to add to his uniform, but he’s Camden McClain, the best thing since Chris Finley and sliced bread, so he can get away with it to the ire of his fellow classmates. Outside of school, if he’s not wearing the TEAM USA jacket, he’s usually seen in the green and yellow Clover Club jacket for the local swimming club with a plain mono-color, usually white, shirt underneath. A very boring boy. In school, he wears the uniform of a white button-down shirt, a green necktie, and dark gray pants,replacing the dark green blazer with whichever swimming jacket he decides to wear on that day. Personality He is a soft-spoken boy who's very appreciative of hard work. Camden can't stand people who would rave about his results, but ignores his work, chalking it up to just natural born-with talent. He comes across as a snobby, standoffish boy because he has trouble with words and eye contact. It's never Camden's instinct to speak or express himself so he's always quiet which makes him difficult to read. He tries to be honest by giving as little detail as possible. His dictionary is sparse in words, but has many different definitions for each word that can be nearly indecipherable in context because he never offers anything. Camden is very internal. He's very careful with his public image on the national/international stage. Although his family is upper-middle class, Camden brings in much of the family's income from his sponsorships which his classmates don't count as real wealth. He is quiet on social media, but he does go on to read negative comments about him and becomes deeply bitter because they're always stupid in his eyes. Camden cares about what his haters think and uses them as motivation to do better to always prove them wrong. He has a sense of humor, but it's pretty lame and simple. He gets a kick out of puns. Background 2013 was Camden's breakout season. He broke the USA Junior record for the 100m breaststroke when he was 15 at the US Junior National Championship and medalled in all four of his events, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststoke, 100m butterfly, and 200m butterfly. He became the captain of his school's swim team his junior year and quit abruptly in the middle of the season because he accepted an endorsement from P2Life, forfeiting his eligibility to swim on the high school and college level. Accomplishments '*US juniors r'ecord-breaking **World juniors record-breaking Relationships Maxen Trautman His childhood friend. They grew up swimming together for the Waterford Academy swim club. Vanessa McClain His older sister by three years. She attends the University of Cincinnati, majoring in communications and minoring in photography. Asher Graves His swimming rival. Asher Graves breaks two of his junior records while Camden's in a funk. Trivia * At time of conception, he was a much happier, louder, funnier guy. * He does kickboxing for cross-training with Maxen Trautman. * He doesn't know how to drive. * The fic titles are all lyrics/songs by Sleigh Bells whose musical style/genre is the polar opposite of his personality.